The Dark Artifices: Lady of Los Angeles

Chapter 2

Later somebody knocked on the door again. She sighed and called out, “Come in!”

     “Well, hello there, eremite”, a sweet voice said.

     She looked up and saw Cristina. Her hair tied up in a ponytail.

     “Why are you here?” she muttered.

     “Jules told me not to bother you.”

     Emma raised her eyebrows. “And you decided to ignore him?”

     Cristina shrugged. “Pretty much. Yeah.” She sat down on Emma’s bed and she suddenly became very much aware of her heart-pattered beddings.

     “Did you come for anything else, other than bothering me?”

     “I came to say,” she inhaled as if she was to tell her something that pained her, ”I’m sorry.”

     “Why?”

     “For cutting you.”

     “A good thing you’re a bad fencer”, she muttered.

     Cristina stuck out her tongue, but then put on a serious face. “When I came here, three months ago, I was kinda happy that there was another girl my age here. I thought we’d be friends.”

     Emma had thought so too. She had talked to her, but got jealous instantly when Cristina started talking with Jules. From then on she’d pushed her away.

     “I thought so too.”

     “Then why aren’t we?” Cristina asked and leaned back on her elbows.

     “I don’t know.”

     “You know that thing I said about Jules before, don’t worry, I know you wouldn’t break the rules that way.” What was it she was saying? She didn’t know how she felt about Jules. She could feel her heart jump of happiness. Still, she thought about what she’d said, “you wouldn’t break the rules that way”? Wasn’t she the one who always bended the roles or, rather, broke them entirely?

     “Yeah, I know he’s my parabatai. Don’t worry.”

     “So you have no feelings for him?”

     “As a parabatai, yes. Romantically, no.” Lie.

     “Good because we are getting kinda serious.”

     “Wouldn’t bother me.” Big lie.

     “Great.” Cristina got up from the bed and walked over to the desk. “What are these marks?” She picked up one of the photos.

     “Put it down! Don’t touch them”, Emma said and waved away her hands.

     “Okay, okay. Anyways, I also came to ask you if you wanted to go out with me and Jules for a cup of coffee.”

     For a chance to see them flirting and kissing from the other side of a table? “I think I’ll pass. Maybe next time.”

     “Okay, bye then.”

When she started to get more and more frustrated over the pictures on her desk she decided it was time to stop. She had to get out. Not to get coffee with Jules and Cristina, just out.

     She put on her black leather jacket and took the shortest way out of the Institute.

     It was sunny outside. Typical Los Angeles weather.